We have two exciting Placemaking Vancouver Island Speaker Series events coming up!

13 Ways to Kill Your Community

Thursday, April 4 at 7:00p.m. at the Shawnigan Lake School Chapel

Doug Griffiths is the President and CEO of 13 Ways, Inc., a company he founded to provide consultation to struggling North American communities. He is co-author of the book 13 Ways to Kill Your Community, now in its 2nd edition. This book has become the go-to manual for community building in North America.

Storm Cunningham is a major catalyst for community regeneration and the author of three books. He focuses on helping places worldwide revitalize with the natural, built, social and economic assets they have to attract the resource they’ll need tomorrow.

Saltair Water System Public Meeting

CVRD are inviting customers of the Saltair Water System to a public meeting. This is an important meeting is for residents to learn more about critical upgrades needed to the water system and to also provide input to your Area Director Lynne Smith and CVRD Staff on decisions facing our community. By now, you will have received a letter in the mail dated March 8th, 2019 from the CVRD providing information on water related issues that eventually need to be resolved.

The public meeting will provide further details on the surface water treatment options and repairs needed to the Stocking Lake Dam as well as provide an update on the current Watermain Upgrade Project. CVRD encourages residents to attend the meeting; staff will provide a presentation on each topic followed by a question and answer period plus input from residents.

Yesterday I was out and about and noticed that many of the Saltair Mail Boxes had been broken into.

Recently there has been mail box break-ins all up and down the Island involving these type of mail boxes. The possible reason is that people are looking for cannabis that has been sent by mail. They seem to not realize that cannabis sent by mail has to be picked up at the Post Office if you have our style of mail boxes.

The RCMP have been called in to investigate. Thank you to the residents that brought these break-ins to their attention.

Today I spoke with the people that were taping up the broken boxes and was advised that these boxes will be replace with new boxes but it might take a few weeks or more.

I was advised that those with broken boxes will have to pick their mail up at the Post Office in Ladysmith for those that have mail delivery from the Ladysmith Post Office and for those that have mail delivery from the Chemainus Post Office they will need to pick up their mail at the Chemainus Post Office.

For those that are interested in starting a Neighbourhood Watch program in their area of Saltair, please contact the RCMP to work out all the details as there is a process involving the RCMP. Good to hear that people in the Saltair community are wanting to get started on helping keep the Saltair community and their neighbourhood safe.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to bring this information to the community.

CVRD Launches Affordable Housing PlaceSpeak Topic
BC – The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) has launched a new PlaceSpeak topic aimed at spurring discussion around the issue of affordable housing in the Cowichan region.

The proposed bylaw addresses the issue of affordable housing in the region by:

Creating a regional service to provide annual funding to the Cowichan Housing Association to assist with costs for programs and services related to affordable housing and homelessness prevention in the Cowichan region;

Establishing a tax to raise $765,000 per year to be managed by the Cowichan Housing Association to leverage and attract funding from the federal and provincial governments to build affordable housing. This tax will be assessed through an annual property value tax of $4.58 per $100,000 of assessed value.

It’s important to note that of the total of $765,000 per year, $500,000 (65%) will go directly toward helping to get “bricks and mortar” projects underway. A further $138,000 (18%) is committed for programming to prevent housing loss, developing partnerships and research and data collection.

Over the coming weeks there will be several opportunities for the public to provide feedback on this topic, including during community open houses to be held at four locations in the region during the month of May:

May 16th Kerry Park Recreation Centre (Mill Bay) 4pm to 7pm

May 17th Eagles Hall (Ladysmith) 4pm to 7pm

May 22nd Island Savings Centre (Duncan) 4pm to 7pm

May 24th Cowichan Lake Sports Arena (Lake Cowichan)

For more information please visit https://www.cvrd.bc.ca/1530/Housing

PlaceSpeak provides a single stop for residents to engage with the issues that directly impact their communities. Once a resident has signed up for PlaceSpeak, they will automatically be notified of new public consultations based on their chosen notification distance.

Visit placespeak.com to sign up for a free account. If you already have an account, go to www.placespeak.com/cvrdaffordablehousing to join the discussion.

Friends of Rails to Trails Vancouver Island (Fort-Vi) are a diverse group of individuals who believe they have a better plan for the E&N Island corridor that will benefit all Island residents.

The group’s vision is to create non-motorized, recreational trails on Vancouver Island for all users whether bikers, walkers, hikers, horseback riders or commuters. This trail would begin outside of Langford and could go as far as Courtney a total of 224 kilometers and a potential branch corridor of 64 kms from Parksville to Port Alberni.

Converting existing rails to trails would boost tourism economy and promote healthier living for locals.

Click on the video below for comprehensive information power point presentation by fort-vi

The project would maintain the railroad history by maintaining the historic railway stations as tourist information centers or kiosks which could direct people to local attractions and accommodation. The cost of developing the trail should be minimal as the salvage value of the steel rails could go towards a contract for their removal. Removal would be done with the least amount of disturbance leaving the rail bed in a condition conducive to immediate use of recreational traffic with the possibility of a top dressing of fine gravel or pavement in the future. Utility companies, such as, gas, water and power may wish to utilize the corridor for their infrastructure and by leasing out this opportunity, future maintenance costs of the trail could be minimized. With a multi-use trail in place the corridor will always remain intact and when future rail transportation is required, which may be quite sometime in the future, it could be constructed where needed, while relocating the trail alongside the new infrastructure.

By making active trail transportation a viable option for everyday travel we would cost-effectively reduce oil dependence, climate pollution and obesity rates while providing better choices to get around town. Rail-trails will encourage healthier, more mobile lifestyles for people of all ages and abilities by making places away from vehicle traffic to walk, bike and more. They support a viable alternative to the automobile and contribute to a more vibrant community interaction by connecting people to the places they live, work and play. They encourages people to get outside and get active by using the trail for local visiting and shopping and maybe even taking a Rail-trail vacation, seeing the countryside from a perspective once enjoyed only by train travelers.

With the imminent demise of rail service on the E&N it is time to seriously consider not putting any more tax dollars into maintaining a crumbling railway infrastructure and using the railway corridors for the development of non-motorized, multi-use trails. (info obtained from fort-vi website).

There are so many freighters anchored in our coastal waters, it is frightening for our environment and peaceful enjoyment of natural beauty of our islands and coast. There is no doubt this is the impact of the new protocol for anchorages. See the high density all over Saltair, Thetis, Penelakut, Valdes Island. There are more than 15 freighters in the area. Looks like Vancouver port Authority is happy to push more and more freighters to us under the new protocol. This map should be a shock and waking call to all of us….

Call for a Meeting of concerned citizens: Saturday March 10 at 2pm in Room #17 at Saltair Community Center – Due the new interim protocol for the use of Southern BC anchorages, we currently have 6 international freighters that were re-routed to our area and currently impacting negatively the Saltair coastal area.

Our area has 6 anchorages that were initially created at a time where freighters were 3 to 5 times smaller. The new generation of ships is way bigger. Their generator and lights is a terrible nuisance. We… have to fight to decrease the number of freighters in our area to a level that we can live with. We have to make our voice heard over this freighters issue.

A big thank you to the residents who have taken the time to express their concern and distress: sleep disturbance with excessive sound and lights, scenic views destroyed, risk of ecological wasteland, disturbance to wildlife and resident whales, etc.

In this photo you can see how the lights and noise from the ships can affect homes on and near the waterfront. Photo submitted by Doug Blackley

The next step is to get organized. Please confirm your intention to come to the meeting be sending an email at:

It is very important that I know who plans to come so I can prepare things to help as an organizer. I need your support. The meeting will be one hour and the agenda is to find a name for our group and decide how we can fight for things to change. There are several options that I will explain so we can decide together the best course of action. I know it is hard for all of us to find the time and the energy to do this but if we do nothing, the future of Saltair coastal area is compromised for certain.

People from Cowichan Bay, Gabriola, Thetis, and Salt Springs have been fighting, and now it is our turn if we do not want to become an industrial port annex.

“Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is assigning these ships. “As the national review gets underway, and as an interim measure to ensure that no one anchorage is overused, Transport Canada has asked the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to manage the assignment of anchorage locations along the south coast of B.C. This a change from existing practice, where anchorages are selected by Masters of vessels in consultation with a coast pilot, without considering equitable rotation.”

New Rebates Available for Replacing Old Woodstoves
Have you considered replacing your old woodstove with a cleaner, more efficient home heating appliance?

The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) now offers rebates of up to $600 when you replace your pre-1994 woodstove with a cleaner-burning heating appliance such as a heat pump, gas stove, propane stove or EPA-certified pellet or woodstove.
“Residents who’ve participated in the program in previous years have noted reduced insurance costs, savings on home heating and improved indoor air quality,” says Chair Jon Lefebure. “Switching to a gas stove or heat pump means you can heat your home with the flick of a switch, benefiting everyone from the elderly to busy families. Participants who installed new certified woodstoves also found their new pellet and woodstoves can burn for up to 24 hours without having to add more wood.”

The Woodstove Replacement Program has been offered for almost 10 years by the CVRD in partnership with the BC Lung Association and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. The program aims to improve local air quality within the Cowichan region and reduce the health risks associated with particulate matter from old, inefficient wood burning appliances. Since 2009, over 800 Cowichan residents have taken advantage of the rebates and replaced their smoky old woodstoves.

Rebates are offered on first-come, first-served basis and are very popular. Don’t wait to apply as available rebates always run out before the year end.

Receive a $550 rebate and a $50 retailer discount when you replace your old woodstove with a heat pump or gas, propane or pellet stove.

Receive a $300 rebate and a $50 retailer discount when you replace your old woodstove with a new EPA-certified woodstove.

Chemoy & Dogwood:
The water main upgrades on Chemoy & Dogwood that were to be done is 2017 are now being done in the next few weeks. The contract was awarded to David Stalker Excavating for $199,455.90 (with GST). This work includes renewing all services and re-routing the water main located behind homes where breaks have occurred in the past.

2018 Upgrades:
If the budget allows, upgrades on Southin Rd will be included with the 2018 Saltair Water System upgrades to the water main from Reed Rd. along Chemainus Rd to Southin Rd.

Auditorium Rentals

Come join Chemainus Art Group at Saltair Centre

ILM Daycare at Saltair Centre

JEM Massage Therapy

Native Flora and Fauna

View Weeky Log Dumpings from the Davis Lagoon (Saltair)

Lagoon Bridge

Information Kiosk located right next to Saltair Station House Cafe on Chemainus Rd

Saltair Neighbourhood Pub

Saltair Station House Diner

Coastal Lavender Bed & Breakfast

Local Book Shop: Saltair Bookstop

About Saltair

Saltair is a unique coastal community with superb natural beauty, nestled between the urban centres of Ladysmith and Chemainus. It is a predominantly rural community of a population of 2,325, many of whom moved to Saltair because of the panoramic ocean and mountain views, and rural ambience.

Local Business Directory

Check out our local businesses and organizations. Please use our directory to find what you need!